Last year, the continental championships were called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and so the event in Tallinn represents the first opportunity in two years for figure skaters to vie for European medals, the interia.pl website reported.
The Polish team, though reduced in size because of coronavirus cases, is "in buoyant spirits,” said Dorota Siudek, a retired medal-winning pair skater who coaches the Polish squad together with former competitive ice dancer Lloyd Jones.
According to Siudek, Polish figure skaters stand a chance of delivering “a really good performance” in Tallinn, the state PAP news agency reported.
In the women’s singles event, Poland's Ekaterina Kurakova “has what it takes” to make “the top 10, or even the top six, and in both cases it would be a huge success,” Siudek said.
Likewise the ice-dancing pair of Natalia Kaliszek and Maksym Spodyriev “should be competing for the top 10,” having finished fifth in 2019, Siudek added.
Finally, in the men’s singles, Kornel Witkowski, who is making his European championship debut, “has great talent and potential” and "should make it into the finals," Siudek told reporters, adding that "this would be a massive achievement for this young boy."
Poland’s last European figure skating championship medal came in 2007, when Siudek claimed bronze in the pair skating event in Warsaw together with her husband Mariusz Siudek, the PAP news agency reported.
(pm/gs)
Source: sport.interia.pl, PAP